Readings Isaiah 7.10-16; Romans 1.1-7; Matthew 1.18-25

This week we remember in our prayers
Sunday 23 December Yirol - (Sudan) The Rt Revd Benjamin Mangar Mamur
Scripture Union: Chair: Ruth Nicholls
Monday 24 December Yokohama - (Japan) The Rt Revd James Satoru Endo
Royal School of Church Music: Cathedral Representative Peter Gould
Tuesday 25 December Yola - (Province of Jos, Nigeria) The Rt Revd Ibrahim Markus
Wednesday 26 December York The Most Revd John Tucker Mugabi Sentamu
Beverley - The Rt Revd Martyn William Jarrett
York - Hull - The Rt Revd Richard Michael Cokayne Frith
York - Selby - The Rt Revd Martin William Wallace
York - Whitby - The Rt Revd Robert Sidney Ladds
The Padley Group
Thursday 27 December Ysabel - (Melanesia) The Rt Revd Richard Naramana
The Cathedral: Canons Residentiary - Nicholas Henshall, Andie Brown, Elaine Jones & Christopher Cunliffe
Friday 28December Yukon - (British Columbia & the Yukon, Canada) The Most Revd Terrence O Buckle
The Cathedral Chapter: Christine McMullen, M. Titterton, Mrs J. Love, Richard Powell
Saturday 29 December Zanzibar - (Tanzania) Vacant
The Cathedral Senior Lay Staff: Finance Officer P. Holdridge, Head Verger A.J. Grantham, Office Manager Mrs I. Minton, Retail Manager Mrs L. Hampson, Coffee Shop Manager Mrs S. Long, Architect R.J. Kilgour

The Coming
Shops full of presents,
Diaries full of double bookings,
Days full of rushing
Round never-ending circles,
Evenings full of parties
And paracetamol,
Children full of media must-have demands.
Lives of tinsel
Hiding depression and debt,
Masking emptiness and insecurity,
Falsifying fears,
Disguising the darkness and dirt of our day -
As real as that of the stable,
And you come.
You come with your plan
And your presence.
You come to us,
Today.
By Daphne Kitching

The Nativity play
Children often have a disarming simplicity in the things they do and say, which at first glance are funny, but somehow strike to the heart of the matter. This is true with children taking part in nativity plays.
There is the story of the little boy who was playing the part of a shepherd.
As he entered the manger scene with his friends to present a gift to the new-born babe, he froze and forgot his lines. So he improvised, and looking into the manger, he turned to Mary and said, ‘Eee, isn’t he like his dad?’

NOTICES FOR THE WEEK
Sunday  4th Sunday in Advent
9.30a.m. Holy Communion - Boylestone
9.30a.m. Holy Communion - Longford
6.30p.m. Carol Service - Sutton
7.00p.m. Carol Service - Long Lane
Monday 24th December - Christmas Eve
5.00p.m. Crib Service - Church Broughton
10.00p.m. Holy Communion - Radbourne
10.00p.m. Holy Communion - Sutton
11.30p.m. Holy Communion - Church Broughton
11.30p.m. Holy Communion - Longford
Tuesday 25th December - Christmas Day
9.45a.m. Holy Communion - Boylestone
10.15a.m. Holy Communion - Dalbury
11.00a.m. Holy Communion - Trusley
Next Sunday 30 December - Christmas 1
10.30a.m. United Holy Communion - Boylestone
      Followed by New Year Lunch
Advance Notice
Saturday 12th January
7.30p.m. Collegium Regale (Choral Scholars of King’s College, Cambridge) in Concert - SuttonTickets £9-00 (£4-50 child) from Margaret Warner (01283-(01283-733193) or Charles Buckston (01283-732247). Early booking is advised.

The Parish Pump and the Benefice entry to the South Derbyshire Churchman can now be found on the internet at: http://churchbroughtonchurch.blog.co.uk/